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Bettman Suggests To NHLPA Sides Take A Break In Negotiations

TORONTO -- After a lockout spanning almost nine weeks, the only thing the NHL and NHL Players' Association are talking about is taking a break.

Commissioner Gary Bettman has suggested placing a two-week moratorium on stalled collective bargaining negotiations, multiple sources told The Canadian Press on Thursday night. The offer came after Bettman received a phone call from Donald Fehr on Wednesday in which the NHLPA executive director said he didn't know how the sides could proceed from their current stalemate.

Rather than providing an immediate answer, Fehr told Bettman he would need to bounce the idea off his membership before responding. The union has repeatedly taken the position that it would prefer to meet rather than having breaks during the labour dispute -- and suggested again Thursday it will continue to favour that position.

"We believe that it is more likely that we will make progress if we meet than if we don't," NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr said in a statement. "So we are ready to meet. If indeed they do not want to meet, it will be at least the third time in the last three months that they have shut down the dialogue, saying they will not meet unless the players meet their preconditions.

"What does that tell you about their interest in resolving this?"

The potential freeze comes with talks already having fallen silent after a busy stretch of meetings last week in New York. By the time negotiations broke off last Sunday, it was clear that distrust and some bad feelings had made their way into the bargaining room.

The sides have been unable to agree on proposed changes to player contract rights and how to share revenue, and will also need to sort out how they pay for the damage of a lockout that reached 62 days on Friday.

"We are extremely disappointed in where we and the players find ourselves," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday evening. "And from our perspective, we have made repeated moves in the players' direction with absolutely no reciprocation. Unfortunately, we have determined we are involved with union leadership that has no genuine interest in reaching an agreement. Regardless of what we propose, or how we suggest to compromise the answer is "no." At some point you just have to say "enough is enough."

"But I'm more discouraged now than I have been at any point in the process," Daly added.

i've also always felt that not talking your problems out is the best way to solve them.

Don't worry boys, it's only the owners. The NHLPA isn't being ridiculous in their own end, at all.

/sarcasm.

How are the players in any way being ridiculous? Because they refuse to concede a couple of key issues? Whereas the owners refuse to concede anything at all. You people need to realize, the owners are going to win these negotiations no matter what. The players will not win, and they are not trying to win, they are just trying to keep the loss to a bearable level. It's simply a matter of how much the owners want to win by, and by the way negotiations have gone so far, they are looking for a home run. If you think the players are being ridiculous for actually taking a stand and refusing to be bent over, you might need to re-evaluate the way you think.

How are the players in any way being ridiculous? Because they refuse to concede a couple of key issues? Whereas the owners refuse to concede anything at all. You people need to realize, the owners are going to win these negotiations no matter what. The players will not win, and they are not trying to win, they are just trying to keep the loss to a bearable level. It's simply a matter of how much the owners want to win by, and by the way negotiations have gone so far, they are looking for a home run. If you think the players are being ridiculous for actually taking a stand and refusing to be bent over, you might need to re-evaluate the way you think.

Because neither side is doing anything. Neither side has made a single important concession.

It's both sides. People need to realize that. The players are just as greedy as the owners. They're not the "little guy" in any sense.

The fact that either side thinks a two week "break" of not talking, while they're barely talking as is, is the problem. One side needs to say no to that. In the end, they'll both say it's a good idea.

If this ends in a year being lost, you can bet your *** the players are just to blame as the owners.

How are the players in any way being ridiculous? Because they refuse to concede a couple of key issues? Whereas the owners refuse to concede anything at all. You people need to realize, the owners are going to win these negotiations no matter what. The players will not win, and they are not trying to win, they are just trying to keep the loss to a bearable level. It's simply a matter of how much the owners want to win by, and by the way negotiations have gone so far, they are looking for a home run. If you think the players are being ridiculous for actually taking a stand and refusing to be bent over, you might need to re-evaluate the way you think.

Under normal circumstances I might agree that taking a break at this point might actually be more productive. The trouble with that logic is that the delays in taking a break put the season in jeopardy too. It's pretty surprising that it seems like they are headed to throwing away another season

"I personally think he's an idiot," White said Friday after members of the Red Wings finished a workout. "Since he's come in, he's done nothing but damaged the game.

"The moves he's made, teams that are struggling seem to be ones he put in places where there's not viable markets for hockey."

White also questioned the power that Bettman has been given from the owners.

"Three lockouts. I don't know if he's in control of the owners or what he's saying," White said to the Free Press. "Eight of the owners have to agree to have something passed - you'd think it would be at least 50 per cent. It just doesn't seem like they're running a democratic process, if you will."